Shoot First Eat Later

Lunch at Peter Luger Steak House

I’ve heard so much about Peter Luger Steak House over the years but I never had the desire to eat there since I wasn’t much of a steak eater. It was only when I started my Cohen diet last year and was forced to eat more meat instead of my favorite carbs that I learned to enjoy steak. Now I actually like steak so I was pretty excited to eat at the famous Peter Luger in Brooklyn.

We arrived at 11:30 am and the restaurant wasn’t opened yet but there were already several people waiting to get in.

We met up with my cousins and aunt who were based in New York and New Jersey. Yes I have cousins all over the US.

Since I can’t eat bread I played with them instead. The spoon messed up my food styling efforts.

I loved the chunks of blue cheese that seemed bottomless.

Luger’s chopped salad $14.95

To all Peter Luger fans please do not send me hate mail with what I’m about to say. For me the steak was just ok. I didn’t find anything special or fantabulous with it. I was expecting an explosion in my mouth since it was my first time to try dry aged beef but instead I found it quite bland and without much aroma.

I didn’t want to drown it in steak sauce to say it’s good. I was hoping the beef would stand on it’s own merit. It was good with blue cheese dressing and lots of crumbled blue cheese though.

Am I just an ignorant steak eater? To be honest I liked the steak at Mamou Too better. I must be wrong since there are legions of Peter Luger fans. But that’s how I feel. All my other cousins liked it though.

dry aged prime beef for 4 $177.80

For our group of 8 adults and 4 kids we ordered only one huge steak supposedly good for four and supplemented it with lots of side dishes. We finished it all. The size of the steak dwarfed the iPhone.

steak sauce

creamed spinach $9.95

I almost caved in and ate the gorgeous fried potatoes but my willpower was strong.

special German fired potatoes $12.95

Since onions were a vegetable I ate the lightly battered crispy onion rings. I really liked eating them with the steak.

onion rings $9.95

My aunt Elizabeth preferred the cheeseburger and baked potato.

cheeseburger

oversized baked potato $5.95

One of my nephew’s artwork.

Peter Luger Old Fashioned Steak Sauce bottle

dessert menu

Eating at Peter Luger was an experience. The waiter was an old timer who was a know-it-all and kinda scary. He dictated how much sides we should order and it was a good thing we listened to him. The servings were huge! The service was really quick and we finished our meal in an hour. They must have wanted us out fast to get more diners in our place.

Peter Luger Steak House
178 Broadway, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11211
telephone: (718) 387-7400

Bouchon Bakery at Rockefeller Center

We were on a vacation so we had a slow start on our 2nd day in New York City. After having the free buffet breakfast at the Residence Inn we walked along 5th Avenue towards Rockefeller Center.

The weather was nice and cool and perfect for a leisurely stroll.

New York Public Library

I never knew that the Philippine Consulate in New York had such a swanky address.

Philippine Consulate General

Nice parols were their holiday decor.

Have you seen Benetton’s controversial ad? This was really huge.

Benetton Ad

The Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center was up when we were there last Nov. 27 although it wasn’t lighted up yet.

We were supposed to take a cab to Peter Luger for lunch but I wanted to stop by Bouchon Bakery first. My cousins didn’t even know it was there. They thought it was still Dean & Deluca. But I knew better since I always see it when I watch The Today Show in Manila.

After my first visit to Bouchon Bakery in Yountville I was lucky to have another chance to go to their other branch in New York City.

These peanut butter cups have been taunting me since Yountville. I was strong enough to resist. But once the DIET is over I’m going back for these babies.

peanut butter cup

They had numerous ready-to-go sandwiches that looked really good too.

We got one raspberry almond croissant and I tasted a little of it. I found that the inclusion of raspberry preserves with almond paste made it too sweet. I prefer a plain almond croissant.

raspberry almond croissant

Naturally I bought my favorite scones, one savory and one seasonal. The savory scone contained smoked bacon, cheddar cheese and chives while the seasonal scone had candied walnuts, oats, cinnamon and honey butter. Both were delicious, crumbly, buttery and not dry. I liked the savory scone just a tad more.

scones

puff tart

coffee cake

Sharon bought a brioche while Lanneth chose the almond brioche. I’m not really a fan of brioche but I was able to try the almond brioche and it was heavenly. It reminded me of a French toast crossed with a custard bread.

brioche

eclairs

I had to practice extreme self control not to buy this double chocolate chunk cookie.

double chocolate chunk cookie

cranberry macarons

Bouchon Bakery menu

This is mine and Sharon’s stash. I chose the scones and the rest were hers. We had them for breakfast the next day and the rest for our road trip back to Virginia. We should have bought more!!!

cousin La and Erin

These are what La and Erin bought.

Chee and cousin Sha with my nephew Ethan

We were too late to watch The Today Show.

I wonder if there was a celebrity in the super stretch limo.

I don’t know who this guy was but I took the picture since I don’t think I’ll ever see all these characters in one shot again.

Minnie, Elmo, Mickey and Woody

Bouchon Bakery at Rockefeller Center
One Rockefeller Center
New York, NY 10020
212.782.3890

Open Monday-Friday, 7am to 7pm
Open Saturday-Sunday, 8am to 8pm

Han Bat Restaurant

We had an early dinner at 5:30 at Eataly. That plus a couple of hours of shopping and our stomachs were grumbling already. So with the help of Yelp we found Han Bat Restaurant.

There were several Korean restaurants near our hotel since Koreatown was at 32nd Street between Fifth Avenue and Broadway. Han Bat had very good reviews and was nearer to us at 35th street.

The restaurant is open 24 hours a day. We arrived at 10:30 pm and it was still full.

The side dishes were different from the ones I’m used to except for the usual kimchi. There was fish cake, bean sprouts, peanuts with dried anchovies and my favorite the squash salad. I’ve had potato salad as a Korean side dish but this was the first time I’ve encountered squash.

The squash was quite firm like it was blanched for only a few minutes and it was simply dressed with mayonnaise. It was so sweet I couldn’t stop asking for more. I must have eaten 3 small plates of it.

banchan or side dishes

peanuts and dried anchovies

I wondered why there was a huge bowl of salt on the table.

bowl of salt

Erin ordered this bowl of beef broth with noodles and rice. It was totally bland and tasteless. We must have added as whole spoonful of salt to it. Ahhhh….

seolleongtang

The stew made with lots of tofu and seafood was hot and spicy, just perfect for the chilly New York weather.

sundubu jjigae

I just tried some of the previous dishes. It was the delectable marinated short ribs that I concentrated on. I really like eating Korean food in the United States because their beef tastes better and servings are bigger. The ribs were very tender and juicy and just perfect with the cold squash salad. No rice for me!

la galbi

sarap to the bones!!

Han Bat Restaurant menu

(click to enlarge)

New York is indeed the city that doesn’t sleep. Any time you’re hungry there’s great food from a halal cart to delicious Korean food.

Han Bat Restaurant
53 West 35th Street New York, NY 10016
telephone: (212) 629-5588

Hong Kong Disneyland here I come!!!

I’m so excited!!! I’ll be going to Hong Kong Disneyland this weekend.

I’ve never been there before although I’ve been to L.A. and Florida’s Disneyland ages ago. I’ll be staying at Disney’s Hollywood Hotel. I’m sure it’s going to be a fun, fun weekend specially with the cool weather in Hong Kong.

Thanks to Hong Kong Disneyland and Cebu Pacific for making this special trip possible. Wait for my posts and pictures of Disneyland. It’s going to bring out the kid in me for sure.

Holiday Shopping in New York CIty

It was Black Friday and I was in New York City. And there’s only one thing more I had to do before I call it a day, shopping!! After an early dinner at Eataly we took a cab straight to Uniqlo on 34th street.

My two cousins have never heard of Uniqlo because they live in Virginia so I introduced them to the wonders of one of my favorite Japanese stores in Hong Kong.

I was amazed at how big the 3 storey store was and it wasn’t even the biggest branch in New York. A branch in Hong Kong could easily fit on one level. There were also lots of stuff on sale.

We all stocked up on the Heattech line. Their under shirts really kept me warm while I was in the US.

Did you know that shopping for clothes and shoes in New York is tax free for any item that costs below $55? For items above $55 up to $110 only 4.375% sales tax will be charged. That’s why the clothes I bought in Uniqlo were much cheaper than in Hong Kong.

Another trivia: Uniqlo is finally opening a branch in Manila at the Mall of Asia in June 2012. Yehey!!!

Armed with heavy bags we went to Macy’s next for a quick browse.

The holiday decor was really pretty.

Macy’s window display was so extravagant and fancy. A lot of planning and work was done for each window which had a story of it’s own.

This window had an interactive video screen. Everything was really impressive!

Tired shoppers taking a much needed break outside Macy’s.

Pedicab anyone?

Whew that was a long and tiring day but I was really happy with my first day in New York City.

Here’s a last look of the beautifully lighted Empire State Building from our hotel room.

Uniqlo
31 West 34th Street, New York, NY 10001

Macy’s
151 West 34th Street, New York, NY10001

Eataly, NYC

The first on my list of “must go” places in New York was Eataly. As soon as we dropped off our bags at Residence Inn in Times Square and took a quick detour in Bryant Park we walked 17 blocks to Eataly. The mozarepa must have given us renewed energy to walk so far.

We went in through the gelato entrance.

gelato

Dolci & Chocolate

I wanted to buy a prime rib sandwich by they closed at 5 pm. I missed it by just a few minutes.

La Rosticceria

There were so many eateries but it was all full and this was at around 5:10 pm.

Il Pesce

Luckily we got a table at La Pizza and La Pasta. Unlucky for me since that’s all carbs.

La Pizza & La Pasta

La Pizza menu

We were immediately served warm crusty bread which I didn’t eat.

Erin didn’t like the taste of her ginger ale so I drank it. The Baladin citrus ginger ale was really an adult soda. It was strong and almost medicinal. It wasn’t sweet and tasted exotic to me. I liked it!!!

Italian sodas $5.80 each

We ordered an antipasto misto to share.

The big plate had small portions of roasted squash, figs agrodolce, shaved brussel sprouts w/ pecorino and marinated olives.

antipasto misto $13

Would you believe this was my first time to eat squash? I loved the firm texture and the unbelievable sweetness tempered with a balsamic reduction. I also enjoyed the raw brussel sprouts with a light dressing and lots of salty shaved pecorino cheese. The fresh figs were sweet and sour and it took me a while to like it and I eventually did. Even though I don’t like olives I liked these marinated olives.

I ate most of the antipasto since my cousins knew I can’t eat pizza and pasta. Darn diet! Those are two of my most favorite food groups.

The pizzas had a thin and crisp, dry crust. The toppings were all good but I liked the one with parma ham and ricotta cheese the best. I didn’t eat most of the crust. I have developed a fear of carbs to this day. (Cookies and desserts are not carb in my mind. ha ha)

Fru Fru pizza $22
special oval shaped 3-season pizza: ricotta cheese and ham, mozzarella and tomato sauce, parma ham, arugula and parmigiano reggiano shavings

The waiter suggested this pizza which was his favorite. He was right. The crisp salami was something different.

Pizza Lombarda $22
buffalo mozarella, salame milano, shaved grana padano & basil

ang cute, ng oven 😀

I tried a little bit of the 9 layer lasagna with traditional meat sauce and it was fabulous. The pasta was thin and al dente. The sauce was just right and it didn’t overwhelm the pasta. The ground beef tasted like little bits of steak. The small slice of lasagna was worthy of it’s expensive price.

Pasta al Forno al Ragu $16

The super al dente penne with eggplant and a spicy tomato sauce was simple and very flavorful. Overall we were very happy and satisfied with our meal. When we left the restaurant at 6:00 pm there was already a long line waiting for a table.

Penne Rigate alla Norma $15

Right beside our tables were shelves of dried pasta I’ve never seen before.

I wanted to take a whole wheel home.

wheels of Parmegiano Reggiano

bread galore

fresh meat

fresh pasta

Italian cheese

cured meats

more cheese

wine bar

Pasticceria

I bought this 70% dark chocolate gluten free chocolate torte. We ate it with our espresso from Caffe Vergnano. It was a bit dry but I liked the deep and rich dark chocolate flavor.

Caffe Vergnano’s espresso

A couple of our friends who lived in New York haven’t even been to Eataly. They know it was always full and hard to get a seat. We were just lucky that we went at 5:00 pm. There were so many things to see but somehow it wasn’t very conducive to shop there. I wanted to buy a piece chocolate but I couldn’t find a cashier. The shopping areas were all mixed together with the eateries that there were almost no boundaries. It was still an experience that shouldn’t be missed.

Eataly
200 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10010
telephone: 212.229.2560
Open Every Day

Holiday Shops at Bryant Park

As soon as we dropped off our things at the Residence Inn we walked to Eataly for a very late lunch. We had to pass by Bryant Park and we made a quick detour through the park to see The Holiday Shops.

We were there last November but I just found out that they have extended these shops until February 26, 2012. I really wanted to walk leisurely to look at all the quaint shops but we were really hungry and wanted to reach Eataly as soon as possible.

I managed to take some shots of the shops and eateries I passed by.

Crepe Cafe

A skating rink called Citi Pond was open to the public during the holiday season.

I had to stop when I smelled something so good at Toparepa.

Toparepa

I’ve never seen mozarepas before. I thought they were just pancakes. I learned that these were called arepas, a popular snack from Venezuela and other Spanish-speaking countries made from cornmeal. The Americanized version added mozzarella cheese in the middle and the mozarepa was born.

Toparepa’s menu

We bought a mozarepa topped with goat cheese, pesto and sun-dried tomatoes to share between 4 adults and 2 kids.

goat cheese, pesto & sun-dried tomatoes mozarepa $6.50

I loved, loved, loved it! Imagine eating a corn dog with the dog. I really loved the gritty texture and sweetness of the arepa mixed with the gooey mozzarella cheese and contrasted with tangy goat cheese. The flavors from the pesto and sun-dried tomatoes completed the explosion of flavors and texture in the mouth. I hope some enterprising Pinoy would bring mozarepas to Manila. I’m sure his would click here.

Max Brenner

My eyes widened as big as those cookies as I gazed in awe. I HAD to buy some cookies!!! The chocolate chunk cookie cost $5 each but they were worth it. It was really huge and loaded with chocolate. I ate bit and pieces of the cookie and it lasted til the next day.

Dumpling Soup House

I guess arepas are really popular in NYC. Even this Chinese noodle and dumpling shop sold arepas.

Big Apple Cider

I really wish I had more time in New York since I wanted to go back to Bryant Park and check out each and every shop and food store. Alas I never got the chance to go back even though it was just across our hotel. Nevertheless I was happy with our quick stroll and snack in Bryant Park.

The Holiday Shops at Bryant Park
Special Extended Season
January 14 – February 26, 2012
http://www.TheHolidayShopsatBryantPark.com

Residence Inn New York Manhattan/Times Square

One of the reasons I was so excited to spend Thanksgiving in the USA was to experience the biggest sale the day after. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to do that. I did the next best thing though – a trip to New York City.

My cousins took advantage of the long weekend and we all drove to NYC which was only a quick 4 hour drive from Virginia.

Deciding where to stay in New York wasn’t difficult. My cousins were all top level Marriott rewards card holders so it was only natural that we stay in a Marriott hotel.

I should have a Marriott ‘label’ for my blog since I’ve stayed in their hotels in Bangkok , San Francisco, Sonoma, Virginia Beach and New York.

Of all the brands in the Marriott group of hotels I really like the Residence Inn hotels. They offer the best values specially for families. Wifi is always free and the rooms are big.

We even had a view of the Empire State Building from our room.

All the rooms are called suites. The couch was perfect for our small luggages.

The bar counter was home for all our mobile devices for charging. We also had breakfast here.

The bathroom was quite small though. But it was good enough for Sharon and me to share comfortably.

The suite had a complete kitchen with full sized appliances. Having a refrigerator and a microwave is great for taking home restaurant left overs.

Should you have a burning need to cook something slow there’s a crock pot at your service.

Only the coffee and tea was free.

All the utensils you need are provided.

This hotel is perfect for guests who plan to stay longer than a week.

Free breakfast buffet was also included. The food wasn’t fancy but the usual eggs, potatoes, sausage, bread, cereal, waffles, juice and coffee were available. There was a long line at the buffet and very few tables. Many people got food and ate it in their rooms.

There was also a schedule of the hotel’s activities stuck on the refrigerator. Happy hour daily from 4 to 8 pm.

I loved the location of our hotel. It was just across Bryant park and a few blocks away from all the major shopping like Uniqlo, Macy’s and so many top name brands on 5th avenue. Times square and broadway was also a short walk from our hotel.

Residence Inn New York Manhattan/Times Square
1033 Avenue of the Americas · New York, New York 10018 USA
telephone: 1-212-768-0007

Lunch at Yabu: The House of Katsu

Recently my friend Michelle invited me to try out her brother John’s new restaurant, Yabu at SM Megamall’s Atrium. I went there for lunch on a weekday with Rochelle. The place was full and there were even a couple of tables with Japanese diners.

Warning: I broke my diet to eat here. And yes I’m still on a diet.

On each table was a complete set of condiments. The two tall bottles contained salad dressing – sesame and soy vinaigrette- for the shredded cabbage. The covered round container had tonkatsu sauce and there was a salt pig. The red bottle was togarashi or chili pepper and the green bottle was sansho pepper.

The salt pig contained Himalayan salt. I wanted to try it with my food but I totally forgot since none of the food needed additional seasoning.

I loved the bag hook under the table.

Don’t forget to ask for their house tea which you can have hot or cold. It’s a drink made from barley. It’s an acquired taste and I feel it combats all the fried food you will eat. Well it helped calm my tummy from all the fried food which I’m no longer used to eating.

cold barley drink

I would never order cold silken tofu but it was a healthier option than potato salad. I was surprised that I really liked it. The citrusy and sour ponzu sauce was the perfect sauce for the smooth and bland tofu.

hiyayakko tofu P175 (for 2 appetizers)

The seaweed salad was another winner. It had a nice bite and it was clean and refreshing.

wakame

My favorite moment was when the waiter brought out the fragrant and warm toasted sesame seeds. I couldn’t stop inhaling the wonderful aroma. The inside of the bowl had grooves to facilitate the grinding of the sesame seeds. I can just imagine the sesame seeds hopelessly sliding around the bowl if it were smooth.

toasted sesame seeds

The waiter advised us not to put more than three spoonfuls of tonkatsu sauce to avoid drowning out the flavor of the sesame seeds. That’s why I put two spoonfuls only. I wanted to bite into the sesame seeds for the added crunch it brought to my food.

tonkatsu sauce

I ordered the premium tonkatsu set which used Kurobuta pork otherwise known as the “Kobe beef” of pork. Most pricey restaurants in the USA use only Kurobuta pork which comes from black Berkshire pigs.

premium tonkatsu set P515

The pork katsu (cutlet) was beautifully fried. The breading wasn’t too thick and it was very crisp. I just wish it came out piping hot. It was just barely warm and I had to blot it with a napkin to get rid of excess oil.

Kurobuta pork tonkatsu

The flavor and texture of the pork was unlike any pork I’ve eaten before. There was a meatier almost steak like flavor. It was also very tender and juicy. It was also lean and it didn’t have an outer layer of fat which I never eat anyway.

Since I didn’t eat rice I ate a lot of cabbage. I never knew raw shredded cabbage would taste so good. I tried the sesame dressing, soy vinaigrette and ponzu sauces with it. They were all very good but I loved the ponzu sauce from the tofu the best. Cabbage was eat all you can and they had servers walking around offering refills. Too bad we were finished with lunch by the time we were offered more cabbage.

I seldom see fried oysters in Manila’s restaurants and definitely not huge Hiroshima Japanese oysters like these.

jumbo oyster set P365

I liked the oyster more than Rochelle did. It was fresh and meaty. It came with a mayonnaise based sauce which I didn’t use. Instead I dipped the oysters in ponzu sauce and it was just perfect with the fried oysters. I just wish this was hotter too.

If you like fried food then you must try the wide assortment of fried goodies at Yabu. I wish they had some non-fried food for dieters like me. They had curry sauces to go with their tonkatsu too and that’s what I would like to try next. Assuming I get off this darn diet.

Disclosure: Our meal was on the house. Thanks John!

Yabu’s menu

Yabu: House of Katsu
2nd Floor The Atrium, SM Megamall,
Edsa corner Julia Vargas Avenue,
Mandaluyong City
telephone: 576-3900, (0927) 398-7962
Open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
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Sarap Pinoy’s Ready Mixes – Bibingka Love

What would your kids say if they came home from school and you have hot, freshly baked bibingka for their merienda? They will probably think you bought it right? Well, now you can honestly say that you made it yourself.

Yesterday I received two big boxes of goodies from my friend who makes all these locally made goodies. I’m already very familiar with Galinco’s line of cookies and gulaman but I’ve never tried their native kakanin line under the brand Sarap Pinoy.

We first made the bibingka. The sapin sapin looked more complicated and I’ll try to make it another day.

There are many pancake mixes in the supermarket but I think this is the only bibingka mix. Using the mix was as easy as making instant pancakes. I just gave the box to my cook and it was very easy for her to make.

Even if you don’t have fancy molds like this you can even use a rectangular or round aluminum pan. We baked it in an oven toaster.

For the readers who are not familiar with bibingka, these are glutinous rice cakes similar to pancakes but with a chewier and denser bite. It’s normally topped with cheese and/or salted egg and served with grated dried coconut. It’s a merienda favorite.

I wasn’t expecting much from an instant mix but everyone in our house was simply flabbergasted on how good it was. It tasted almost as good as my favorite bibingka from Via Mare. It’s definitely better than a lot of other commercial bibingkas I’ve tried.

Only 2 tablespoons butter was used in the recipe but it tasted so buttery so I suggest you use the best quality butter to make this bibingka even better.

If I weren’t on a diet I could have easily eaten 2 pieces. I loved the soft yet slightly chewy texture. I specially loved the caramelized crust that formed on top. Plain was good but with cheese was even better.

I found this in Unimart. The bibingka mix cost P54.95 a box.

With the success of our first ready mix we tried the maja blanca and kutsinta mixes next. I also wanted to try the guinataang bilo-bilo mix but we didn’t have saba, langka and sago on hand.

I had no idea how kutsinta was made but the instructions were pretty straightforward. Dissolve the contents of the pack and add 1 cup of water. How simple can that be?

My cook used mini muffin molds.

It’s a good thing it fitted in our steamer.

After 35 minutes we had kutsinta that tasted just like store bought kutsinta. Admittedly I’m not a big fan of this sticky rice cake but this tasted very authentic.

The Maja Blanca was our last creation.

My cook just added some canned sweet corn and the contents of the packet with water and heated the mixture in a pan. Another easy peasy instant dessert.

The texture and flavor of this corn and coconut pudding was spot on. Not too sweet and just the right amount of creaminess.

I was very pleased with results of all these ready mixes from Galinco. Obviously my favorite was the bibingka. I always thought if I had to live abroad bibingka is one of the Filipino food that I will miss. Now I can actually bring bibingka with me wherever I go. This would be a great gift for balikbayans.

Hide the boxes and show off your inner Nora Daza and impress your whole family with these all time favorite Filipino treats. All these products are available at your favorite supermarkets in the baking ingredients aisle.

Grand Alphatech International Corporation (Galinco)
424 Gomezville St., Addition Hills
Mandaluyong City, Philippines
telephone: (632) 723-4353 / 723-4759 / 723-4129 / 723-4122
http://www.galinco.com